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MH handles Jacksonville at state

Bulletin Staff
5:37 p.m. CDT July 27, 2014

Mountain Home shortstop Hayden Hall swings at a pitch during a regular-season contest. Hall had a pair of doubles and drove in three runs in Lockeroom’s 9-3 win over Jacksonville on Saturday at the State Tournament in Bryant.(Photo: Sonny Elliott/The Baxter Bulletin)

Hayden Hall cracked two doubles and drove in three runs, and Mason Smith pitched another complete game as Mountain Home Lockeroom opened the Arkansas American Legion AAA Senior State Tournament with a 9-3 win over Jacksonville's Gwatney Chevrolet on Saturday at Bryant High School.

Mountain Home (21-12) advanced to Sunday's winner's bracket semifinals, where it faced Texarkana.

Lockeroom jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the top of the first, only to see Jacksonville score twice in the bottom of the inning. Another three-run rally in the fifth would allow Mountain Home to break the game open.

Austin Gardner's two-out double jump-started Lockeroom in the fifth, and Kyle Stephens provided an RBI single. Hall followed with an RBI double and Brody Ninemire capped the inning with a run-scoring double of his own for a 6-2 lead.

Jacksonville would get one of those runs back in the bottom of the inning, but Smith would tame Gwatney Chevrolet over the final four frames.

Mountain Home provided two insurance runs in the seventh.

Gardner was again the catalyst with a leadoff single, Stephens singled and Mountain Home pulled off a double steal. Hall drove in a run with a groundout and Austin Jacobelli completed the scoring with an RBI single.

Mountain Home scored its final run in the top of the ninth when Gardner walked, Stephens singled and Hall hit into a double play.

Lockeroom outhit Jacksonville 13-7 on the day.

Stephens finished 3 for 3 with two runs scored and an RBI. Hall was 2 for 5 with two doubles and three RBIs, while Gardner was 2 for 4 with four runs scored. Sky-Lar Culver and Jacobelli also had two hits apiece.

Smith improved to 7-3 with the win, throwing just 115 pitches in his complete game. The left allowed three runs — two earned — on seven hits and four walks. He struck out five for the day.

Mountain Home got off to a quick start in the game when Culver walked, Todd Miller singled, Gardner walked and Stephens was hit by a pitch to force in a run. Hall followed with a two-run double for the 3-0 lead.

Jacksonville's James Tucker had a two-run double in the bottom of the first to set the score at 3-2.